Every
queer storyline has a stereotypical character. Will and Grace has
the flamboyant Jack McFarland. Queer as Folk has nelly bottom Emmett
Honeycutt. And Tales of the City 1/2 has the flaming hunk Martin
Ventura, a Filipino gay man who is so proud of his queer identity that he
does anything to display it. And that includes wearing tacky clingy outfits
from Injeanious. Martin is a Castro baby. You'll find him hanging
out with his friends at Cafe Flore or dancing the night away at any of San
Francsico's amazing gay bars. But beneath the proud flamboyant shell is a
sensitive man who has had to deal with years of alternative homohpobia from
his supposedly supporting family.

Ventura was born
in Daly City in the early 1970s. His Illocano-father was a successful corporate
manager at Bank of America in San Francisco. Martin spent much of his childhood
trying to hide his attraction to men while pursuing his studies. He shrugged
off his family's belief that he was bakla despite his stereotypically
effemininate. His mom even let him play with with Barbie Dolls and one should
not be caught messing with his Malibu Barbie collection bi-yatch! Anyways,
college experimentation at Harvard University finally forced Martin out of
the closet.

Unlike many other
Asian families, Martin's parents did not disown him because of his revealed
homosexuality. Instead, his family is pressuring him to have a "sex-change"
operation so he can become the daughter that they originally desired. Martin
is completely against the gay Filipino steroetypes of nelly hairdressers and
fashion designers who became man-wives of hunky white men. His family's objectives
to marry him to the nearest hunky white man clash with his own desires to
find someone he can connect with. He also feels that although he is homosexual
and flamboyant and effeminate, he is still a man. This brings into question
the stereotypical portrayals of queer men in mainstream media. I personally
consider Martin as more of an androgynous person who blurs gender
lines.

Martin moved back
to San Francisco following graduation, with a degree in accounting and business.
He started working for Coldwell & Banker in downtown San Francisco. However,
the snobby looks of other young accountants and homophobic gossip made Martin
realize that his work space was not a safe zone. He left Coldwell to work
for Macy*s' male department store in downtown San Francisco. Within five years,
he was promoted to assistant manager thanks to his fabulously good taste.
If only he took his own advice, he could probably dress better too. In San
Francisco, he befriended Ryan Hitomi through his own
college friend Ranko Saotome and instantly fit into
the Castro clique.

As for man-drama,
you came to the right place, honey. Martin not only has had flings with the
creme de la creme of Castro men. He also knows about the flings of
many other men. His connections with club promoter Devin Lancaster and his
largely gay-cohorts at Macy*s allow him to become one of the center cogs of
the San Francisco gay-gossip mill. He knows exactly who has slept with who,
where and what liquor was used to entice them. Martin also feels that he has
a personal goal to protect the new "gaybies" from predators like
Kerry Kwok, whose temporary affections he too fell
for when he first came to San Francisco.

But like his friend
Ryan, Martin is also growing tired and weary of the one-night-stand-gossip
world of Castro and wants to settle down with Mr. Right. If only he could
get over his desires for Mr. Right-Now. Until then, Martin Ventura asserts
his pride in himself and he doesn't care what anyone says. As he tells Luke
Fong: "I'm a flaming faggot with my flaming rainbow flag and if you can't
deal with it, then fuck off!" You go, boy!